I know what temporary HP do: they provide a buffer, while leaving the original state of the character intact (if you receive temp HP while bloodied, you don't stop being bloodied, for example).

What I want to know is what do they represent, and if there's a general way of roleplaying them. The question arose because normal HP already represent more than just health (-2 hp doesn't imply a wound, say), and so Temp HP seem a bit redundant on the RP side of the equation.

I can understand particular cases: "A sudden favor from Moradin leaves you feeling better than you can remember, prime for battle" == +6 temp HP over your top HP, but the general case, if any, eludes me. I'd also like to know the rationalization for adding them into the game, but that's a bonus.

5 Answers
5

While I wholeheartedly agree with @wax eagle's answer from a personal standpoint, I don't see that sort of description used in the rules anywhere. The compendium describes Temporary Hit Points for 4e in the following way:

Temporary Hit Points

[...] Small reservoirs of stamina that insulate you from losing actual hit points.

It is therefore helpful to reacquaint ourselves with the 4e definition of hit points.

Hit Points

Over the course of a battle, you take damage from attacks. Hit points (hp) measure your ability to stand up to punishment, turn deadly strikes into glancing blows, and stay on your feet throughout a battle. Hit points represent more than physical endurance. They represent your character’s skill, luck, and resolve—all the factors that combine to help you stay alive in a combat situation.

The bit about "small reservoirs of stamina" I didn't know, and is useful. Thanks.
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Adriano Varoli PiazzaMay 26 '11 at 14:17

good point. I forget the the HP model is less about injury and more about stamina and durability. Honestly I'm not super simulationist so I really just think about them as HP, to be preserved at all cost...
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wax eagle♦May 26 '11 at 14:28

1

The main thing is that as they are called HP, they often get mixed with the concept of "Health points"; it is important to remember they are actually hit points, makes it easier to understand
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Cristol.GdMJan 13 '12 at 14:48

I find it easier to represent HP as mix of morale, health, ability to sustain physical injury and luck. Therefore I usually think and roleplay temporary hit points as luck (the foe hits the hero but not that bad) or morale (the hero ignores part of the damage and keeps pushing the combat forward).

By the way, I use the same interpretation for non-magic damage resistances.

Temporary hit points can be modeled with the concept of an energy shield (magical, mechanical or otherwise).

In the computer RPG Knights of the Old Republic you had consumable energy shields that filled your arm band slots. They were commonly found in the world and could absorb a certain amount of damage. I have always pictured THP this way.

A good way to RP them would be "You suddenly feel a wash of (insert power source here) energy surround you, you feel invigorated." Or you could try - "A magical shield surrounds you ready to stave off the next hit from your opponent."

Temp hit points are very often granted by powers that involve some sort of action that has a different target from the beneficiary and requires an attack roll, granting temp hit points as a residual effect to success. This is the drums of war, the planting of the banner on the battlefield. It is success breeding success, and residue of great actions. The residue may be loose magic, favor of a god or a rush of adrenaline and pride from watching something awesome. Beneficiaries are bolstered when it is there turn to engage, feeling a little less pain.